DBS Bank has started to inform workers who will be laid off as part of the massive job cuts announced last Friday, but it said that younger employees will mostly escape the chop.
'The staff will cut across different functions and ranks (but) staff in the junior ranks will be relatively less affected,' said a bank spokesman yesterday.
DBS will cut 900 jobs, mostly in Singapore and Hong Kong, and across all divisions. The news came on the day it reported its sharpest profit fall in two years.
Chairman Koh Boon Hwee told The Straits Times on Monday that the decision was not 'easy' and was taken after other options such as wage cuts were considered.
The bank also said it will help those laid off with counselling and support activities such as job search through outplacement services.
'DBS has been in talks with companies in various industries to provide career opportunities to staff,' the spokesman said.
The bank will also honour the special staff privileges such as mortgages and medical benefits for an extended period after laid-off employees leave.
'For those with staff mortgages, we will extend the prevailing terms to them for a six-month period. The bank has also made arrangements to extend their in-patient benefits for six months from their last day of employment,' it said.
DBS said it has also sought the help of NTUC's training institute to develop training programmes.
DBS employs about 7,600 staff here and 4,200 in its Hong Kong unit.
The severance packages for the 900 outgoing staff will be in line with industry practice. In Singapore, retrenched employees are entitled to one month's salary for each year of service.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 13, 2008.
